Sartre Existentialist Aesthetic Thought

As the most famous existential philosopher of French, Sartre's existentialism is not only a kind of world view to cognize the world, but also a kind of philosophy to know the life, is a kind of human theory both ontology and ethnics, expressing a tendency to get in touch with material existence directly. Therefore, the achievement of his existential aesthetics not only lies in the academic discussing, but also lies in to provide a kind of aesthetics method and state for life. From this meaning, Sartre's aesthetics is a kind of life aesthetics in essence.Introduction what to discuss is the social background and the theories origin of Sartre's existential aesthetics, then indicates the meanings, the research methods and the creative new points of this paper. First is Sartre's childhood. The childhood gives Sartre two big and deep feelings: contingency and freedom. These two feelings decide his whole life to a large extent, lay the foundation of his philosophy, aesthetics and literature. Second is the social background of existentialism. In the shadow of the two world war, in the crisis of the western world politics, economy, belief and moral, Sartre, using his philosophy works, various literature works and the fulfillment activities, informs a kind of positive life attitude toward the people: The person is created by his own. Only this person is a real person, which can build up the art and beautiful kingdom, not the physical world. The last is the theories origin of Sartre's existentialism. Sartre inherits the individual existence and experience of Kierkggard, also inheriting the idea "God died" of Nietzsche, this makes him have no pessimism despair of the former, but have optimism and thoroughly negative spirits of the atheism of the latter. It is the most important work of Sartre that unifies Husserl's phenomenology with Heidegger's ontology philosophy, and builds up his own theories system. Perhaps existentialism can generalize the characteristic of Sartre's philosophy and aesthetics, because he always what to emphasize is the state of human being, and deposits the person's existence in the first, thinking that it has the meaning of the ontology. Sartre studies the problems of beauty and art from the special situation, not from the theory, this leads to his aesthetics lack of integrality, system and independency. Perhaps this is why have no systemic research Sartre's aesthetics at home and abroad. This paper tries to research Sartre's aesthetics from his philosophy: holding the whole theory by analyzing the core concepts of his works, then presenting the special thoughts of Sartre; using the compare method to see the inherit and innovation of his aesthetics, then talking about the history position of Sartre's aesthetics and the meanings of constructing aesthetics of modern.Chapter one what to discuss is Sartre's existential philosophy, which is the foundation of Sartre's aesthetic thought. In philosophy, Sartre tries to build up a kind of phenomenological ontology by unifying phenomenology and ontology, i.e. his free philosophy. He changes Heidegger's ontology philosophy by the theory of Husserl's intentionality. Sartre thinks that freedom equals existence, existence equals action. The person's existence is not changeless, but is like an empty parentheses that is filled with various possibility. It needs to fill with the freedom of choice constantly, then makes it become ego a certain existence for design and plan. The person's existence equals consciousness which has the characteristic of "is it not and not it is", so the person will produce negative emotions such as solitude, nausea, anxiety etc. But the consciousness also has intentionality, i.e. transcendent, the person can return to the original existence of freedom. Therefore, Sartre's existential philosophy emphasizes the state of the person's existence. It is the theories foundation of his imagination and freedom.Chapter two is aesthetic explanation of Sartre's imagination. On the aesthetics, Sartre replaces the consciousness in the philosophy with the imagination, paying attention to describe and analyze aesthetics experience and psychology with the methods of phenomenology, breaking through transcendent principles of psychologism, giving the imagination with the special position. Sartre's imagination has the transcendent of consciousness, and is freedom in essence, as a result, beauty is created freely by people in the imaginary world. So beauty does not exist in the realistic world, only exists in the imaginary world. And the work of art is created by imagination. It reveals the person's true existence and reflects the person's realistic destiny. No imagination, no beauty. Sartre's imagination negatives and transcends the actuality, holding the nothingness, so it is only a path and method to get freedom. Even if the inaesthetic modern art still pursuits beauty for getting everlasting freedom, only by expressing uncertain, casual, momentary beauty to long for everlasting beauty. Like this, Sartre unifies being-in-itself and being-for-itself by imagination and builds up an artistic and aesthetic world. It shows that Sartre's imagination is not only a kind of thought method, but also a positive action and a kind of means and tool to fight for the liberty and transcend the actuality. Therefore, Sartre's imagination not only has a value of ontology, but also has a meaning of methodology. But it is impossible to unify being-in-itself and being-for-itself that predestines the aesthetic Utopia of Sartre's imagination.Chapter three is aesthetic explanation of Sartre's freedom. Sartre affirms the freedom of the person's existence ontology, thinking that the realization of freedom is the others' first of all, next is mine probably. It is the theory intersubjectivity of Sartre, so that the freedom of the whole mankind is attendant. Sartre thinks that enjoying and creating art is an important approach to realize freedom. The essence of art is to invoke freedom, is to hold the world by freedom. Sartre's commit literatures embody the people to pursuit and realize freedom, especially his dramas. In aesthetic action, both writers and readers find the freedom and try to realize it, then the corroboration of the people each other comes true. In Sartre, the art works convey the freedom of the feeling on the ontology, and realize the common existence of the people and the world. Sartre's freedom is not absolute, but opposite and realistic; his aesthetic freedom is not the transcendent of situation, but to affirm the freedom of station. Sartre makes the activity of aesthetics extend to the realistic world to unify the life and then exploits the state of aesthetics. From this meaning, Sartre's aesthetic freedom belongs to the concepts of ethnics. It is different from "Beauty is freedom" of contemporary aesthetics. But, if we discuss "freedom" still in epistemology, imaginary freedom of aesthetics is always absent. Sartre enlightens us on this point. Only aesthetic freedom is just real freedom, which means to realize human essence furthest; only human essence realizes furthest, we can have free, harmonious culture and civilization. It is included in constructing the theory of harmonious society.Chapter four what to discuss is historical position and meanings of Sartre's aesthetic theory in the development of modern aesthetics. Sartre's aesthetic thought is the important part of existential aesthetics, opens the structuralism aesthetics in France of widely accepted at the same time. Although his achievements of existential aesthetics have nothing on Heidegger's, Sartre thinks much of the person's existent state, and uses his literature to illustrate his aesthetic thoughts, this makes his influence exceed Heidegger's in a sense. Sartre's aesthetic thought has an important meaning for reflecting traditional aesthetics and constructing contemporary aesthetics. Since "Being comes before essence", the person can decide his own existent style by the freedom of choice. Therefore, Sartre does not discuss the essence of aesthetics and art any longer, but describes "Why is aesthetics possible", "Why is art possible", then the essences of aesthetics and art present by describing and analyzing phenomena. Because phenomena is namely essence, essence is namely phenomena. Beauty exists in life world created by people. The development of contemporary aesthetics must take to life, realizing the unification of existence-life-living existence. Because Heidegger's early "Being" and later "poetic thinking" are too pure, escaped from the life. Although Sartre's existence and freedom promote to get involve in the society and life to a large extent, it is only a kind of personality of ethics freedom, rather than the state of freedom on the aesthetics. Only existence that exists and highs in life, can realize the harmonious unification of beauty and life, achieve aesthetic state that is not moral but conform and high morals.Sartre opens up a new path in aesthetics. From imagination and freedom, he studies aspect problems of aesthetics. He adapts the developing tendency of modem west aesthetics, discussing the problems of aesthetics and art from aesthetic experience and subject. Although his imagination is the aesthetic Utopia, Sartre understands it from the person's being, this makes imagination become the most important mode to realize aesthetic exist. Although his freedom is a kind of ethnic, it is only a path to realize aesthetic freedom. At the same time, Sartre is good at to illustrate his aesthetic thoughts by novels, dramas and so on, this makes his thoughts understand easily and press close to the people's life. Sartre unifies his philosophy, aesthetics and literature perfectly. It is the most remarkable characteristic of his existential aesthetics. Furthermore, it embodies Sartre to pursuit the freedom from the commit of literature to the action of realism, which causes us to think about deeply individual and society, life and actuality, contingency and necessity, being and nothingness and so on. From this meaning, Sartre's existential aesthetics is a kind of ethnics in essence. It already permeates in people's daily life and behavior or much or little, lets people find a reasonable pivot in the unreasonable realistic world, gives people the spirit power to shake off the depressed, thus makes the independence and freedom of the individual personality get the healthy and general development.